Five times as many Scots support urgent Council Tax reform as oppose it

The polling, carried out by YouGov on behalf of Tax Justice Scotland, finds strong backing for urgent action:

• More than half of Scots (56%) support political party commitment to reforming Council Tax during the next Parliament, while just 11% oppose this – a decisive mandate for change. Excluding people who said ‘don’t know’, of those who expressed a view, the support rises to 84%, with majority support across every age group and region of Scotland.
• If Council Tax is reformed or replaced, an overwhelming 83% want a fairer system; with people in higher-value homes either paying proportionately more than people in lower-value homes (57%), or everyone paying the same share regardless of their property value (26%).
• Just 2% want people in lower-value homes to pay proportionately more than people in higher value housing, showing near-total rejection of the unfair status quo created by the current Council Tax.
• Nearly half of people (46%) support moving to a system based on current estimated property values rather than historic 1991 estimates, while 27% oppose this and the remainder are unsure. Excluding people who said ‘don’t know’ (27%), of those who expressed a view, support for a revaluation rises to a substantial 63%.

The polling comes more than a decade after the cross-party Commission on Local Tax Reform concluded that “the present Council Tax system must end” and as the Scottish Government’s consultation on Council Tax reform draws to a close.

Tax Justice Scotland – a campaign backed by more than 50 organisations, from anti-poverty and environment charities to social enterprise bodies, as well as academics, policy think tanks and trade unions – is calling on all Party Leaders in Scotland to make concrete manifesto commitments to scrap Council Tax and replace it with a fairer alternative.

Campaigners say that while welcome, the Scottish Government’s recent announcement of two new Council Tax bands for the very highest-value homes, affecting fewer than 1% of households and taking effect from April 2028, is a very limited measure that does not address the widespread unfairness built into the system.

Laurie Macfarlane, Co-Director of Future Economy Scotland and member of Tax Justice Scotland, added: “Council tax is wildly out of date, deeply unfair and locks in inequality. People across Scotland are loud and clear: they want urgent reform with a fair, modern system delivered within the next Parliament. The new top-end bands are a start, but they don’t go nearly far enough. We need a full nationwide revaluation and a system where everyone pays their fair share so councils can fairly raise the resources to fund vital services and Scotland finally gets a property tax system fit for the 21st century.”

Council Tax is based on 1991 property valuations, but since then, property values have varied significantly across Scotland. According to the Scottish Government’s own analysis, they have risen on average by 357% since 1993, but the increase has been far from uniform: for example, values in East Lothian have grown by around 500%, while in Aberdeen City they have risen by 168%. Tax Justice Scotland says the disparities between and within local authorities makes the case for a modern, nationwide revaluation impossible to ignore.

Not only does evidence suggest that over half of properties are in the wrong band, but properties in the highest band, Band H, were worth at least 8 times those in the lower band, Band A, in 1991, but face a tax rate that’s just 3.675 times higher – locking in unfairness.

Campaigners say that continued delay in replacing Council Tax is wholly unacceptable, with councils across the country already considering further rate hikes using the unfair system to cover funding gaps for vital local services caused by rising service demand, wage costs, and inflation.

Ahead of the Scottish election, Tax Justice Scotland is calling for all parties to make manifesto commitments to:

• Abolish Council Tax and replace it with a fairer alternative.
• Launch a national revaluation of property as a first step in the next Parliament.
• Ensure the new system is local, proportional, and protects those on low or fixed incomes, while ensuring effective transition support is in place.

Various options for reform exist, but campaigners say the new system must make the wealthiest pay their fair share while helping to ensure councils have more resources for vital services, like schools and social care.

With property one of Scotland’s largest forms of wealth, Tax Justice Scotland says that replacing Council Tax is a crucial step toward a fairer national and local tax system. Campaigners say a new system should be in place by 2031, making the upcoming Scottish election crucial to kickstarting progress.

Katherine May, Oxfam Scotland Advocacy Adviser and a member of Tax Justice Scotland, said: “Scots are clearly fed up with a system that’s outdated and past the point of repair, with every year of political inaction locking in deeper unfairness and inequalities. The Scottish Government says it won’t act on Council Tax without a consensus on what would replace it. This polling shows that people in Scotland strongly back a fairer, more equitable system. Ahead of the Scottish election all parties must make a clear commitment to finally consign unfair Council Tax to the dustbin of history and set out their plan for a fairer alternative. It’s time for leadership and radical change, not yet more fudges.”

/ENDS 

For more information and interviews, please contact: Rebecca Lozza, Oxfam Media and Communications Adviser, Scotland and Wales: rlozza1@oxfam.org.uk / 07917738450  

Notes to Editors

• All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 1,113 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 8th – 14th January 2026.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all adults in Scotland (aged 16+).
• Read Tax Justice Scotland’s briefing, Outdated and Unfair: The Case for Council Tax Reform here.
• Find Scottish Government analysis of property values here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/consultation-future-council-tax-scotland/pages/2/
• Tax Justice Scotland is supported by over 50 diverse organisations, academics and economists. It campaigns for a fairer tax system in Scotland, across the UK, and globally that delivers for people, public services, and the planet. Find out more about Tax Justice Scotland: https://taxjustice.scot/